Humidifying apparatus.



Wg B. HODGE.

HUMID'FYING APPARATUS.

AffPLlCATl-ON FILED MAR. 2|. 191.6.

PatentedNov-12. i18.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- WIL ya @E y L iii-u Q1! SWAN/mko@ W. B. HODGE.

HUMIDIFYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21. 191e.

Patented Nov. 12, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@ Y @ZM www I W. B. HODGE.

HUNIIDIIFYING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED III/IR. 21. IsIe.

I Patented Nv. 12, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

sra

ES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM B. HODGE, OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGN- MENTS, TO PARKS-GRANIER COMPANY, 0F FITCHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS, ACORPO- RATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

HUMIDIFYING APPARATUS.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. Honor, (whose post-office address isCourt House Square.) a citizen of the United States, re-

art to which it appert-ains to inakeV and use the same.

The invention relates tof improvements in humidifiers, and moreparticularly to an atomizer type of the same, wherein water is sprayedor atomized into a room under pressure, from` acompressed airA supply,for the conditioning of the atmosphere to anyl desired degree ofhumidity.v

It is well known that with the usual atomizer type of humidifier, thearea of distribution is limited by the amount of air pressure, and, atthe best, the water spray produced is only distributed over acomparatively small area from the orifice, of the spray nozzles, andonly in one direction. theabsence of wettin `down depends upon `theability of the air evaporate the free moisture as it issues from theatomizer, and if the drops of waterv do not come in contact with a.suflicientvfamount of air to entirely evaporate them, they fall upon themachinery, fioor or other bodies abovewhich they are placed, and. soonwet the surfaces, with corresponding deleterious effects.

The primary vobject of the invention is to provide an apparatus of thecharacter mentioned, andone of a greater capacity, 'than that of theheretofore known types of the same, and so arranged as to preventcertain grave obJectlons, obtaanlng. 1n such f known types, particularlyin rooms having relatively low studded.A ceilings, or where there are noair draftsto aid-in the proper distribution of the'atomized spray ofwater,

A further object of thek invention is to provide an apparatusof thischaracterwith4` means, whereby' lto secure' a unit of Ahigh evaporativecapacity, and relativelywide area of distribution,l without the usual.at-

Specification of Letters Patent.-

Furthermore,

' Patented N0v.12,191s.

` Application filed March 21, 1916. Serial No. 85,616.

tendant ill effects of .wetting down the surfaces of the room, or of themachinery and other content of the same.

The general construction and arrangement ofv the apparatus, ascontemplated in the present invent-ion,- provides for the ejectiveefl'ect of the atomizer head, or of the atomizer nozzles carriedthereby, being supplemented with an air current of relatively highvelocity, the latter being produced either by a fan attached to eachindividual equipment or unit, or from a central station Ifan supplying anumber of units. Each of the umts, aforesaid, comprises a casing havinga plurality of outlets opening through a wall thereof, the latter beingvpreferably semi-c ircular-in conformation, and a correspending number ofatomizer nozzles, one centered within each of said outlets and arrangedto discharge outwardly therefrom. and, by provision of suitable curveddefiecting surfaces, the su plemental air supply, admitted centrally othe rear of the casing, is properly and'evenly proportionedto eachoutlet and forcibly flows through the latter past the atomizer nozzles,thereby mixing with the atomized water spray a greatly increased amountof air, whereby the natural evaporation of the spray is great-lyenhanced and the area of distribution is proportionately increased.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention resides inthe certain new and useful construction and arrangement of parts as willlie-hereinafter more fully described, set forth inthe appended claims.and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figujre 1 is a top plan view of a preferred form thereof,

Fig. 2 is a Side elevation,

Fig. 3 isa rear elevation,

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a modified Iform of the same, and,

rcompressed air sive, thereof, wherein is illustrated a humidifying headembodying an individual means for supplying thereto a. supplemental airsupply for the proper evaporation and distribution of the water sprayAdischarged therefrom into the room.

The humidifying head, in this instance,

comprises a casing formed to provide a subl stantially semi-circulardistributing portion l0, and a rearwardly disposed air intake portion11, the latter being preferably cylindrical in form, and having adiameter substantially less than the width of the former, as shown.Opening through the forward or semi-circular wall 12, of the distributinportion 10, are a plurality of outlets 13, pre erably rectangular incross-section 'and of even width throughout their depth within thecasing, through which is to be discharged a supplemental or distributingvolume of air supplied thereto from theI ai'r intake portion 1l. Thissupplemental or distributing supply of air is properly proportioned toorequalized between, leach outlet 13 by means of suitablycurved, orotherwise arranged, deflecting partitions or vanes 14, which providechannels connecting the air intake por tion 11, with the outlets `13,for the purpose.

Adjacent the outer end of each of the. outlets 13, andr centered thereinwith respect to the walls of the same, is arranged, for outwarddistribution therefrom, an atomizer head 15, of any desired or suitable.construction, upon which is impressed, in a downward direction,preferably, through the medium 'of a pipe connection 16,-a supply offrom a distributing main or pipe 17, the latter being curved over thetop wall of the casing in conformity with the curvature of the wall 12,of the'casing. and connected at one end to a Asuitable source of supply,and having its other end closed in any suitable manner, asshown.

The impressing of the air supply, aforesaid, on the atomizer heads 15,creates a suction action which lifts vwater through pipe connections 18from a supply main 19, Yand sprays the saine outwardly ofv the casing,

from the nozzlesof the heads, in a diffused manner. This Water supplymain 19 may be f connected with an `independent supply, or to a conduitcommon to a plurality of the humidifying apparatus. and in either case,a predetermined level of Water is to be maintained in the pipe, orpipes, 19 by means of a fioat valve 20, or other similar device, or, incertain preferred cases, a small water tank 21, with a fioat controlledvalve Q0 therein, may be directly attached to the casing, in whichinstance, ply, not shown, is to valved outlet 22, of the tank.

be connected to the This latter` arrangenientis especially useful whereonlyv one or two equipments of this kind are to be installed, or whereit is desired to keep position,

` ing the main water supincase? the rooinas free as possible from anotherwise excessive amount of piping.

Engaged over the rear edge of thecylindrical air intake portion 11, ofthe casing, is a split ring-like frame 23, having spaced lugs 24, risingfrom its opposed ends, and adapted to support a shaft or .bolt member 25from which is suspended a motor 26, the latter being of any desired typeand carried by 4a frame 27 having lugs 28, engaged by the shaft or boltmember This method of mounting the motor 26 admits of its being swung/outward'from its normally operative the same being partially within thecasing and concentric with the walls thereof, for the purpose of givingready access to the interior of the casing and. for the cleanout of thelatter, the cleaning of the motor and the lubrication of its parts, asis necessary from time to time. The motor 26 is provided With fan blades29, which are so arranged as to draw air from the outside of the casingand force the same, in any desired degree of velocity, through theintake portion 1l and through the channels between the deflectingpartitions or vanes 14 to the outlets, as hereinbefore mentioned.

lnthis type of huniidifying apparatus, with the atomizer heads disposed,preferably, radially of the casing, as shown, each in` its respectivesupplemental air channel, and when in operation, the primary or com-`pressed air supply tends to throw a spray ofl` tinely atomized waterfrom each of the various jets outward of the casing, covering an arc ofapproximately 180, more or less, de-

pending upon the number of outlets desired',

and the arc of distribution necessary for the proper conditioning of theatmosphere of the room.

As heretofore stated, in the known types of humidifying apparatus,- the4jet of air used for the purpose of atomizing the water is notsuiiicient to force t-he finely attenuated spray to any appreciabledistance from the point of discharge, but by impressing a supplementalsupply of air, of relatively high y velocity, back ofthe atomizernozzles to pro duce a Vstrong draft over and aroundreach of the latter,it is to be readily observed that. a far more adequate amountV of air isbrought into immediate contact with each spray, so that it is not onlycarried to a comparative great distance beyond the normal area of.distribution, but, along with" such increased travel, the added amountof air assists in a more rapid evaporation of the moisture, and puts itin a gaseous sta-te,- whereby it becomesfavailable in its desiredhumidifying effect, and,iby reason of the provision of the ldeflectingpartitions or vanes, before mentioned, the supplemental` supply of airisequally proportioned to the severai atomizer/ heads,` through theirrespective channels, so that entiredistrihu-- tion, of moisture ismaintained uniform throughout the area to be conditioned by that in thistype of system, especially in the Winter months, a blast of hot,extremely dry air is forced into rooms and interiors for the 4purpose ofheating, and many impro lements have been .suggested for moistening hisair supply, at the central station, prior to its being impelled into theflues by the usual driving or suction. fans, but this has only beenaccomplished at a great and unwarranted expense, and in the utilizationof an a excessive amount of space for the proper positioning of an airwashing apparatus suitably proportioned lfor the purpose.

In this latter type of apparatus, the individual 'motor unit, and itssupporting frame, is dispensed with, and the air intake portion 31 ofthe casing, is, preferably, modified to provide a substantiallyrectangular opening to conform to the usual similarly shaped opening ofthe Hue 30, and the compressed air supply pipe 32, and the water supplypipe-33 are led into the intake portion 31, and connect to distributingheads 34 and 35, respectively. Radiating from the air distributing head34'are a plurality of branch air pipes 36, and from the waterdistributing head 35, a plurality of branch Water pipes 37 each arrangedin pairs, corresponding in number to that of the atomizer nozzles 38, ofthe unit, and connecting the latterin the manner of the before-mentionedconstruction. The distributer heads 34 and 35 may be convenientlysupported in spaced relation within the casing in any desired manner,or, as shown, by means of a spacing sleeve or pi Je section 39,interposed between the hea s., and a tie rod 40, passed through thesleeve, and secured, at

its opposite ends, to the heads in any suit-` able manner, or by thenuts 41, as shown.

rIhe equipment, thus provided, lends itself admirably to the urposementioned, as it 'can be attached directly to the flue outlet, openingthrough the`wall of theI room or building Vin which it is to be used,and the air, produced by the central station fan, has

the same effect, so far as the distribution and evaporationoftheatornized moisture is concerned, and itis readily understood thatthis convenient, efficient, as well as simple meansof moistening thenormally dry, hot blast of air, aforesaid, is an extremely advantageousform of fhumidlfying or conditioning such incoming supply of the air,

in combination' with means for air across said atomizers,

not only rendering it less injurious to health` but also more adaptableto many kinds of manufacturing operations, where humidity plays anyappreciable part therein.

In the last mentioned type of the apparatus, it is to be desired thatprovision be made for ready access to the interior of the intake portion31, of the casing, particularly so, for the cleaning away of any lint orother waste matter which tends to accumulate around the'distributerheads, and branch pipe connections leading therefrom, and tothis end, there is provided a handhole 43. opening through the topwallof the portion 31, immediately abovethe upper distributer head 34,and which is adapted to be closed by a cover 44 slidably mounted inguideways 45, extending across the top wall. aforesaid, for the purpose.

Either type of these apparatus may be supported in operative position bymeans of any suitable or desired form of hangers, suchl as, forinstance, the strap hangers 42, as shown, or in any other manner asconditions may require. ff Y It is readily evident that the exact formof construction of the invention, as shown and described herein, is notnecessarily re` g quired for the accomplishment of the desired effect,as the apparatus may be made in an entirely circular form, with the fanmotor supported concentrically of the top Wall of the casing thereof,and the deflecting partitions or vanes so arranged that the forceddraft, of the lsupplemental air supply, dis-` tributes radially past allof the atomizers disposed along an arc of 360, and similarly,

.other forms, which would readily suggest themselves to one skilled inthe art, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of thesaid invention.

l Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed is 1.Radially disposed outwardly discharging multiple means for producingaw'inely divided water spray, in combination with means for producing anincreased area of distribution of the latter.

2. Outwardly discharging multiple means for producing a finely dividedWater spray, producing an auxiliary draft of air, and defiecting thesame, whereby said auxiliary dra'ft of air is proportionatelydistributed; across said multiple means.

3. A series of outwardly discharging atomizers with air. and waterYsupply. pipes, means for supplying a constant waterlevel in said watersupply pipe, and means for creating and forcing an additional current ofration and distribution of the spray produced by said atomizers isincreased.

4. series of atomizers, each with its respect1ve compressed air andwaterV supply,

whereby the evapoy tenuated water spray,

ing an additional current of air to distribute through the curved an airpassageway surrounding each atomizer duct, means for creating andforcing anadditional current of air, and means for subdividing saidcurrent of air', whereby each atomizer receives through said vaporizersany desired proportion of said current of air.

-5. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of anoutwardly discharging series of devices for producing anattenuatedwater1 spray, and means for producin an additional current ofair for, distributing the spray over a comparative wide area.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of anoutwardly discharging series of atomizers for producing an atand meansfor producthe spray over a comparative wide area.

7. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a seriesof atomizers disposed along a predetermined arc for producing anattenuated water spray, and means for distributing the spray over acomparative wide area.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with acasing,of a series of atomizers disposed `within said arranged todischarge outwardly therefrom, and means for distributing the waterspray, from said atomizers, over a comparatively wide area.

9. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with acasing, of 'a series of atomizers disposed along an arc within saidcasing and arranged to discharge outwardly therefrom, and' means fordistributing the water spray, from said atomizers, over a comparativewide area.

10. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with aatomizers disposed along an arc within said casin and arranged toldischarge outwardly there om, and means for-supplying a current of air'to the rearroflsaid atomizers, whereby thevnormal area of distributionof the water spray, from the latter, is greatly increased.

11. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with acasing having a plurality of outlets opening through a wall thereof, anatomizer disposed within each of said outlets .and discharging outwardlytherefrom, and means-for supplying a current of air to the rear of saidatomizers, whereby the normal area of distribution of the Water spray,from the latter, is greatly increased,

12. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with asemi-circular casing having a plurality of outlets opening wall thereof,an atomizer disposed within each of said outlets and dischargingoutwardly therefrom, and means casing and.

casing, of a series of of air to the reary of the normal area of from`the disposed within each of said. outlets and dischargingoutwardlytherefrom, a water suply for said atomizers, a compressed airsupply for ejecting the water from said atomizers, and means forsupplying a current of air to the rear of said atomizers, whereby thenormal areaof distribution of the water spray, from the latter, isgreatly increased.

14. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with asemi-circular casing having a through the curve'd wall thereof, anatomizer disposed within each of said outlets and discharging outwardlytherefrom, deflecting partitions disposed within said casing andfor-ming channels each connecting with respective outlets, and means forsupplying a current of air through said channels to the rear of saidatomizers, whereby the normal area ofdistribution of the water spray,from the latter, is greatly increased. 15. In an apparatus of the classdescribed,

the combination with a semi-circular casingy Aand said channels to andaround said atomizers, whereby the normal area of distribution of thewater spray, from the latter, is greatly increased.

16. In an vapparatus of the class described, the combination with asemi-circular casing having a plurality of outlets opening through thecurved wall thereof, an atomizer disposed within each of said outletsand discharging outwardly therefrom, an air intake casing disposed tothe rear of said semi-circular casing, detlecting partitions disposedwithin said casing and forming channels each connecting -theirrespective outlets with said intake casing, said deflecting partitionsbeing arranged to proportion the air from said intake casing equally toeach of said channels, and means for supplying a current of air throughsaid intake casing and said channels to and around said atomizers,whereby the normal a'rea of distribution of the water,` spray, from thelatter, is greatly increased. p

l 17. In an apparatus of thev class described,

the combination with a semi-circular casing having a plurality of`outlets opening` through the curved wall thereof, an atomizer disposedwithin each of said` outlets 'and discharging outwardly therefrom, aWater supply for said atomizers, a compressed air supply acting uponsai` atomizers in a manner to discharge therefrom the water in the formof a finely divided spray, and means for supplying a current of air tothe rear of said atomizers, whereby the normal area of distribution ofthe water spray is greatly increased.

18. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with asemi-circular casing having a plurality of outlets opening through thecurved wall thereof, an atomizer disposed within each of said 4outletsand discharging outwardly therefrom, a water supply pipe common to allof said atomizers, means for maintaining apredetermined water level insaid supply pipe, a compressed air supply also common to all of saidatomizers and acting upon the latter in a manner to discharge therefromthe water in the form of a nely dividedspray, and means for supplying acurrent of air to the'rear of said atomizers, whereby the normal area ofdistribution of the water spray is greatly increased.

19. In an apparatus of the class described,

the combination with ai'semi-circular casy ing having a plurality ofoutlets opening throu the curved wall thereof, an atomizer isposedwithin each of said outlets and discharging outwardly therefrom, an

intake casing disposed to the rear of said semi-circular casing, a watersupply for said atomizers, a compressed air supply for ejecting thewater from said atomizers in the form of a finely divided spray, and afan motor disposed within said intake casing for driving a current ofair through said semi-circular casing and around said atomizers, wherebythe normal area of distribution of the water spray is greatlyincreased.'

20. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with asemi-circular casing having a plurality of' outlets opening through thecurved wall thereof, an atomizer disposed within .each of said outletsand discharging outwardly therefrom, an intake casing disposed to thevrear of said semi-circular casing, a water supply for said atomizers, acompressed air supply for ejecting the water from said atomizers in theform of a finely divided spray, and a fan motor removably supportedWithin said intake casing for driving a. current of air through saidsemi-circular casing and around said atomizers, whereby the normal areaof distribution of the water spray is greatly increased.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM B. .HoDGn Witnesses:

I-IowARn MORRISON, Jwo. C. WATSON.

